Ladbrokes has opted to extend its sponsorship of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) to 2020, giving the Scottish football divisions a welcome cash boost. The deal is believed to be worth £5 million, with the betting brand also agreeing to up its investment in the leagues.

The original deal, signed in 2015, was the most lucrative in Scottish football history at £4 million, and the bookmaker happily activated the option to extend the deal by one year last summer.

Despite Ladrokes’ £4 billion merger with Coral, the body will continue to be known as the Ladbrokes SPFL. It is understood that the deal will be officially unveiled within the next 48 hours, after being ratified at an offical SPFL general meeting (GM).

The league system was rebranded as the SPFL in 2013 by CEO Neil Doncaster, in an attempt to revitalise its fortunes and attract larger sponsorship deals.

Celtic has won the top flight Scottish Premiership for the past six seasons, as they strive for what would be a record breaking ten successive league titles. The club currently finds itself 8 points ahead of second place Aberdeen, and a further three points ahead of staunch Old Firm rivals Rangers.